Leo Gibson

Leo Gibson (born August 9, 1983) is a Liberian footballer who currently plays for and is the former head coach for the Kansas City Comets in the MASL.[2]

Leo Gibson
Personal information
Full name Leo Gibson
Date of birth (1983-08-09) August 9, 1983
Place of birth Monrovia, Liberia
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Kansas City Comets
Number 14
Youth career
2000–2002 Monrovia Black Star
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 King Tornado
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 Minnesota Thunder 48 (9)
2007–2009 Detroit Ignition (indoor) 21 (12)
2009 Cleveland City Stars 27 (10)
2009 Rockford Rampage (indoor) 3 (8)
2009–2010 Philadelphia Kixx (indoor) 9 (7)
2010 Charlotte Eagles 7 (3)
2010– Kansas City Comets (indoor) 215 (264)
International career‡
United States futsal
United States arena soccer
Managerial career
2017–2018 Kansas City Comets (asst.)
2019–2023[1] Kansas City Comets
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 November 2021
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of July 6, 2014

Career

College

Gibson was born in Monrovia, Liberia, but came to the United States in 2002, having previously played for the Monrovia Black Star youth team in the Liberian Premier League. He played college soccer at King College in Tennessee in 2002 and 2003.

Professional

Gibson had a trial with the Dallas Burn of Major League Soccer in 2004.,[3] before eventually signing with the Minnesota Thunder of the USL First Division in 2005. However, a hand injury kept him from playing any games that season.[4] He remained with the Minnesota through the end of 2008, becoming an integral part of the team in the 2006 and 2007 seasons especially.

In 2007, the California Cougars of the Major Indoor Soccer League selected Gibson with the 40th pick in the MISL Draft. He informed the team that he preferred to not play in California and the Cougars traded his rights to the Detroit Ignition on November 15, 2007 in exchange for a first round pick in the 2008 Supplemental Draft.[5]

On March 17, 2009, having been released by Minnesota, Gibson signed for the Cleveland City Stars for an undisclosed transfer fee.[6] He played 27 games and scored 2 goals for Cleveland before the club folded at the end of the season; after a brief return to indoor soccer with Philadelphia Kixx in 2009–10, he signed with USL Second Division side Charlotte Eagles in 2010.

Gibson was signed to play in the MISL's return to Kansas City with the Missouri Comets on October 16, 2010. Named the MISL’s Offensive Player of the Month in November, it was Gibson’s move to the Comets’ DEFENSIVE end on New Year’s Eve that provided the club its much-needed spark in the back. Despite playing the first seven games on offense, Gibson still tied for the team lead in blocks with 20, which tied him for 6th overall in the league. Gibson was a tenacious defender, but he was often able to find the back of the net for the Comets, finishing 8th in the league in scoring with 45 points and finishing tied for the second most 3-point goals with four. As a reward for his efforts, Gibson was named 1st Team All-MISL.

Gibson was named head coach of the Comets on October 29, 2019.[7]

Honors
Kansas City Comets
Individual
  • All-MISL First Team: 2010-11, 2012-13, 2013-14[10]
  • All-MISL Second Team: 2011-12[11]
  • Major Arena Soccer League MVP: 2014-15
  • All-MASL First Team: 2014-15
  • All-MASL Second Team: 2015-16, 2021
  • All-MASL Third Team: 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20[12]
  • Ed Tepper Humanitarian of the Year: 2017-18

References
  1. "THANK YOU LEO!".
  2. Althaus, Bill (February 26, 2015). "Not Missing the Point". The Examiner. Independence, MO: GateHouse Media. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  3. "2004 Roster Dance". Archived from the original on 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  4. Liberian forward Leo Gibson tries to replace Melvin Tarley with the Minnesota Thunder Archived 2008-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Cougars send Leo Gibson to Ignition for draft picks
  6. "Minnesota transfers Gibson to Cleveland". Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  7. "COMETS SELECT SCORING LEADER FOR COACH". KCComets.com. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  8. "2012-13 Major Indoor Soccer League Season". Wikipedia. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  9. "MISL: Missouri Comets claim first championship in dramatic win over Baltimore Blast". Hummer Sport. Soccer Wire. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  10. "2010-11 Major Indoor Soccer League Season". Wikipedia. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  11. "2011-12 Major Indoor Soccer League Season". Wikipedia. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  12. "Awards". MASL. Soccer Shift. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
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